NEWS ARCHIVE

Beau McCoy

1. What approach, if any, would you take to reforming Nebraska’s tax structure?

“Nebraska is a high-tax state. As Governor, I plan to pick up where Governor Heineman has left off – focusing on lowering the tax burden for Nebraskans. This legislative session, I stood with Governor Heineman to pass $412 million in tax relief. Property taxes continue to be a significant burden for many families and for our farmers and ranchers. That’s why I supported increasing the Property Tax Credit Relief fund by $25 million as part of this tax relief package, and why I also introduced legislation to lower the valuation of agricultural land from 75% to 65% for tax purposes.

“We need to continue cutting income taxes to help families, and small businesses. We also need to provide incentives to keep retirees in Nebraska by eliminating income taxes on Social Security and military retiree benefits.”

For more information on my plan to lower taxes in Nebraska, please visit www.BeauForGovernor.com

2. How would you encourage young Nebraskans to stay in Nebraska, especially in small communities and rural areas?

“We need to work to help the young people of Nebraska identify all of the good, high-paying job opportunities we have here in communities all across the state by creating additional learning pathways in trade and technical education. Nebraska is also a high-tax state, and we need to continue to work to lower taxes to give young Nebraskans the best opportunity possible to start their adult lives without the crushing burden of high taxes.”

3. Under what terms, if any, would you support construction of the Keystone XL oil pipeline?

“I believe we need to support North American energy development to reduce our dependency on foreign oil. As is the case with the construction and operation of any pipeline, we need to ensure the proper technological safeguards remain in place and the rights of landowners are maintained.

4. How would you encourage small business development in the state?

“Many small businesses in Nebraska operate as pass-through organizations when it comes to taxes - paying income taxes on the individual side, not as corporations. This means many growing small businesses often pay income taxes at the highest rate, stifling their ability to grow and add jobs. We need to continue to improve our tax climate to encourage business development and growth. Our next Governor also needs follow in Governor Heineman’s footsteps by fighting back against Washington overreach and costly mandates.”

5. What would you do to help farmers manage higher land valuations and help family farms succeed?

“This year in the Nebraska Unicameral I introduced legislation to lower valuations on agricultural land from 75% to 65% for tax purposes. Valuations on Ag land have skyrocketed over the past several years, and we need to do more to ensure our farmers and ranchers, who are the backbone of our state, aren’t placed at a competitive disadvantage to producers in surrounding states. This year, I also fought to provide an additional $25 million in annual property tax relief to all property owners, because high property taxes are a burden which threaten homeowners and small businesses as well.”

6. What types of reform, if any, would you advocate for Nebraska Health and Human Services?

“As our next Governor and the Nebraska Legislature continues to examine the management of the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services we will need to look for commonsense solutions to keep costs under control, ensure taxpayer dollars aren’t mismanaged, and improve accountability measures.

7. What spending priorities would you support as governor?

“It’s our responsibility as Nebraskans to provide the best possible education for our young people to help prepare them for future opportunities by continuing to make education spending a priority. Statewide, our schools are doing a fantastic job of educating our youth with a high-school graduation rate of nearly 89%. However, there’s more work to be done and at the state level, we need to do more to provide flexibility to schools while maintaining accountability, and ensuring our schools are adequately funded.

We also need to continue making spending on transportation and communication infrastructure a priority. In order to capitalize on the opportunities for growth our communities face, we need to ensure we have the infrastructure in place to link us together through technology and to transport manufactured goods and commodities.”

8. Name three attributes that differentiate you from your fellow candidates.

“Having grown up in agriculture, I learned an appreciation for hard work and know how important agriculture is to Nebraska. Today, as a small-business owner I understand what it takes to keep our economy growing and face many of the same challenges other small-business owners face including high taxes, and overregulation - two areas I’ll seek to improve as governor. Lastly, having spent the last six years as a Member of the Nebraska Legislature, I have a proven track record as a leader in defending and improving our way of life in Nebraska. The combination of these three sets of experiences, I believe, make me uniquely qualified to be the next Governor of Nebraska.”